Improvement in piano-fortes



dilated ,giedre DANIE-L STIRN, OF'MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN...

Laim Patent No. 89,806, dem May 4, 1869.

DIPROVEIMENT IN PIANO-FORTES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it concern v Be it known that I, DANIEL STIRN, of the city and county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and vimproved Piano ;v and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the'construction and operation of the same, reference. being-had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a section through line x a: of fig. 2. Figure- 2 is a plan. i Figure 3 is a bottom view. Figure 4 is an end view In this inventlon a new form of sounding-board, and

cast-iron frame, and a new arrangement of the sounding-board with relation'- to the cast-iron frame, the strings, and the supports and fastenings for the latter,

are employed for the purpose of giving greater volume,

purity, sweetness, and brlliancy to the tone.

In the drawings- B is the soundingboard,which is curved, or arched upward along its centre, like the sounding-board of a violin.

It is attached to a flat, straight bar, b, at its narrow end, andv at its wide end'to a bar, b, straight along its under side, and convex on its upper side, as shown in ig..4, the sounding-board itself being of uniform, or nearly uniform thickness.

vThe-board B is strengthened by braces b b, in shape resembling the end-pieces b, and attached to the un der side of theboard, as shown in iig. 3.

The whole iscfastened to "the under side of the castiron frame F F', by means of the screws s s, as seen in iig. 3.

The sonnding=board thus extends under the end F'f of the castfiron frame, the latter being, at that part,

` also arched to correspond to the shape of the former, so that the space between the two, where one passes underthe other, is about equal at all points,

At c there is a space between the rear edge of the sounding-board and the rib of the frame, vover which the strings pass.

In order to connect the 'strings directly to the sounding-board, so that their vibrations shall be communicated to' it, I attach to it, parallel with the edge f of the frame F F', a curved bridge, D, of wood, or any other suitable material. f

Upon this bridge, I set, at the proper intervals, three pins-e e e, for each string, (excepting, perhaps, those that are overstrnng,) arranging the pins in the manner shown in g. 2. I pass the strings m m between these pins, in such a manner that they shall bear against the two end ones on one side, and against the middle one on the other, curving slightly to pass around the middle one, as shown in g. 2.'

Pianos thus constructed, have been thoroughly tested by the inventor, and other manufacturers, and are found to possess a tone of much greater power, purity, sweetness, and brilliancy than-when constructed as heretoore.

It is obvious that this improvement can be applied to any. kind of instrument.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire'to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination of a concave-'convex soundingboard B with a castfiron ame, F F', having the part F' arched, to correspond to the shape of the board below, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The use of the pieces 112 b2, in connection with an arched sounding-board -B, substantially as and for the purpose described. v'

DANIEL STIRN.

Witnesses: l

J AMES M. SULLIVAN, W. R. STRONG. 

